Mannikin&#39;s head hair structure



L.. NAPOLI TAN MANNIKIN'S HEAD HAIR STRUCTURE Filed April 19, 1949 5 RN H mm M mm @m N P T N w W Patented July 14,1953

Louis'Napolitam Ncw York, N. Y.; Loretta Napolitan, administratrix of said Louis Napolitan,

' deceased Application April 19, 1949, Serial No. 88,445

The present invention relates to an improved 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-172) head construction for such objects as mannikins,

dolls, and the like, and more particularly to such heads having strong, durable and lifelike hair .and scalp construction.

vbe obvious herefrom, or miay be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities,

and combinations pointed out in the appended claim.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a mannikin head embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail cross sectional view of a portion of the scalp of the head shown in Fig. 1 illustrating the way in which the hair is applied and aflixed; and,

Fig. 3 is a detail cross-sectional view of another portion of the scalp of the head shown in Fig. 1 illustrating the affixing of the hair at a different angle than that shown in Fig. 2.

The invention has for an object the provision of an improved head for a doll, mannikin or the like wherein natural, life-like hair is provided in the scalp (and affixed thereto in a strong and durable fashion. The invention further provides such a head which is particularly adapted for the use of hair dressing students or other hard usage, wherein the hair is to be washed, set, colored, permanent waved, combed, and restyled numbers of times and the hair and the scalp into which it is set is subjected to soap, hot water and chemicals and frequent manipulation throughout the desired useful lifetime of the object. The invention further provides a head in which the hair, scalp and hair line simulate very closely the appearance of a human head and in which the hair is strongly held in a scalp which is resistant to boiling water and chemicals. The invention further provides a head in which the hair may be set at such angles as to facilitate its manipulation in the forming of given hair styles.

With the above and other objects in view a head for a mannikin, doll or otherwise is made as shown in the accompanying drawings illustrat- .2 I ing a mannikin head, wherein a hollow head designated generally by the numeral, 5 is cast in accordance with. any known and conventional method and out of the usual materials. Such head 5, however, is cast in a form having (a slightly depressed scalp area 6, the bottom surface of said area being indicated by the lines 1 in the drawings. The scalp area 6 is that portion of the head normally covered with hair and preferably a little larger, and said area'isfilled in with the material I l herein disclosed and the hair strands inserted while said material is still' in a plastic state. After the material of the scalp'area 6 has hardened with the hair 8inserted therein, the hair is firmly held in the scalp by flexible adhesive action and the scalp itself has a high resistance to heat, water, soap, and chemicals which may be applied thereto in dressing the hair.

The material for the scalp area 6 preferably comprises mineral fillers and plaster of Paris to make up the bulk and give setting qualities to the mass,- water, and retarder's chosen to allow adequate time for inserting the hair prior to final setting of the scalp. area, as well as to make the mass adherent and workable when it is still in the plastic state, and water and chemical resistant and flexibly adhesive to hold the hair when it has set. Such material may comprise a mineral filler such as magnesite and/or clay 8% parts by weight, plaster of Paris 8 parts, water 12 parts, and retarders such as glue, mucilage, oils and waxes 2 parts. A preferred formula for the scalp material is as follows, the parts noted being by weight:

Parts Magnesite 8 Silex Plaster of Paris 8 Salt water 12 Mucilage Linseed oil Varnish 1 Wax 1 In preparing the scalp material, the salt water, linseed oil, silex and magnesite are mixed into a. plastic mass, and the plaster of Paris is then gradually added and mixed in. The wax is melted and added and mixed in as well as the mucilage, and the varnish added last and the entire mass completely mixed. Any suitable waterproof coloring agent may also be added in order to make the scalp area the desired flesh color.

The material is then in the form of a coherent plastic mass, and is applied to the depressed scalp area 6 in suflicient amount to completely fill it and bring it to level with the adjoining surfaces of the head 5. The filled scalp area is then a1- lowed to harden partially for a period of time, for instance, about two hours, and the hair 8 is then inserted. In order to obtain the best results the hair is inserted in the still plastic mass as individual strands by means of needles 9 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3-;said needles having forked ends I to engage and embed individual hairs in the scalp. The hairs are thus formed with turned ends I2 which anchor them in the scalp.

The hair may in such way be applied to the scalp at various angles with relation to the head,

as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings Such relationship may accord with the natural relationship of human hair with respect to the head at various parts of the scalp, or, if desired,

may be chosen to make the hair easier to set and retain in given hair styles. For instancepif the head were being prepared particularly for use in ,a. hair style in which the forward top part of the hair was to be swept forward, the hair in that part of the scalp could be inserted with a forward inclination, even though this might be counter to the natural growth of hair.

After the material has hardened in the scalp area 6, the line of demarcation between head 5 and scalp area 6 may be buffed so that it is very diflicult or impossible to see such line of division,

and the hair creating the hair line of the head has preferably been carefully inserted somewhat back in the scalp area 6 from this line of demarcation in order to allow such buffing of the line. The head thus produced is extremely life like in appearance, the hair is firmly held in the age-hardened scalp material and is held therein by flexible adhesive action which prevents the hair from loosening and pulling out despite the hardest usage. This is never the case when hair is inserted in a material which hardens to a rock like form and fails to sufficiently adhere to the hair, such as plaster of Paris without other agents for holding the hair. On the other hand, the

scalp material, though flexibly holding the hair to prevent loosening, is not thermoplastic, so that 4 heat will not plasticize the scalp and allow the hair to loosen. The scalp is also entirely water proof, and is resistant to soap and chemicals which are used in hairdressing. The scalp material is age hardening but does so over a consider able period of time due to the retarding action of the ingredients, so that adequate time is allowed for the necessarily long and careful job of inserting the hair as individual strands at predetermined angles. It will be understood that other materials than those noted may be used in the making of the scalp in accordance with the invention, and that the relative amounts of the materials may likewise be varied.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific embodiments shown and described but departures may be made therefrom,

'within the scope of the accompanying claim,

without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:

In a mannikin head or the like comprising a head member having a filled-in scalp area, in combination, the composition for said scalp area comprising a material consisting essentially by weight of about 8 parts of magnesite, part silex, 8 parts plaster of Paris, 12 parts salt water, part mucilage, /2 part linseed oil, 1 part varnish, and 1 part wax, and hair embedded in said material.

LOUIS NAPOLITAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 397,463 Kubelka Feb. 5, 1889 1,658,605 Liebich Feb. 7, 1928 1,946,653 Wein Feb. 13, 1934 2,417,750 Hall Mar. 18, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 375,912 Germany May 19, 1923 

